Attorneys fault feds in Caswell Motel case

TEWKSBURY -- Russell Caswell, owner and operator of the Motel Caswell, says at age 69 he was bullied by the most unlikely of sources -- the U.S. government.

His three-year legal fight with the U.S. Attorney's Office over the attempted seizure of his motel ended Thursday with a federal judge siding with him. But Caswell describes what the government did to him as "un-American.''

The resources the U.S. Attorney's Office dedicated to trying to seize his property were "unbelievable,'' he said.

Local defense attorney Christopher Spring, a former prosecutor, said he isn't surprised by the outcome of the case. What is "stunning'' is that the government went to trial with such "flimsy evidence,'' he said.

"The U.S. attorney (Carmen Ortiz) should explain why she decided to take action against the Caswell when other properties have a worse record related to drug crimes,'' Spring said. "It absolutely appears to be a case of prosecutorial bullying."

He added, "You have to wonder how many more cases she's prosecuting, just like these, that aren't in the media.''

Caswell said he was fortunate to have the Institute for Justice (a public-interest law firm) on his side to foot the bill for most of his legal fight. He said most people, certainly not him, don't have the money to fight the U.S. government.

In commenting on the decision, local attorney Peter Nicosia said the facts of the case "clearly supported the innocent-owner, defense-favorable finding.

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Nicosia added, "Any decision to the contrary (on these facts) would have set a dangerous legal precedent in the civil forfeiture arena never before seen.''

The Lowell-based Marcotte Law Firm wrote in a tweet, "Seemed like an overstep by them (the federal government)."

The Virginia-based Institute for Justice, which has provided Caswell with legal help, described the case as "the most contentious civil-forfeiture fight in the nation."

Larry Salzman, an Institute for Justice attorney, said, "This outrageous forfeiture action should never have been filed in the first place."

Fellow Institute for Justice attorney Darpana Sheth added, "Civil forfeiture is a draconian power that is too easily abused. ... This case epitomizes what an aggressive U.S. attorney wielding these laws can do to a small property owner like Russ Caswell."

In her decision, U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein found that the Motel Caswell was not subject to government forfeiture and that Caswell was an "innocent owner'' who did not know or facilitate drug crimes on his property.

Dein wrote that is was "rather remarkable'' for the government to argue that Caswell should lose his property, which is assessed at $1.5 million with no mortgage, for failing to take "undefined steps'' to boost security when the police didn't communicate with him about the crime problem.

While prosecutors suggested the motel was a hotbed of crime, Dein noted that during a 14-year period, Caswell rented 196,000 rooms, but prosecutors presented evidence of only about a handful of drug-related offenses.

The basis of the government's lawsuit against Caswell is a law that allows the government to seize property linked to drug sales.

The U.S. Attorney's Office filed the lawsuit to take the Caswells' property under the civil-forfeiture law, sell the land and keep the money because there have been drug arrests at the property over the years.

Under the federal law, property can be subject to forfeiture as long as the preponderance of the evidence shows that the property is "used, intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit or to facilitate the commission of crimes," the U.S. Attorney's Office argued.

The state civil-forfeiture law has a stronger standard to meet for how involved the owner was in the business of unlawfully manufacturing, dispensing or distributing controlled substances on the property at question.

Under a process known as "equitable sharing," the federal government would keep 20 percent of what it nets, and the local police department would pocket 80 percent. The Caswell family would lose their motel -- and their livelihood.

In the days following the civil trial in U.S. District Court last November, local attorneys feared a win by the government would be a dangerous precedent and create a slippery slope for more forfeitures.

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